Dead silence
by headphonesinn481
Summary: Ari is a spirit who has been trapped in exile almost since she has been a spirit. Its not because she is evil, its because she took someone else's place. But nobody knows that. So what happens when the Guardians come and take her out, because MiM told them to? Will Envy and Hate overcome Ari, or can she take her place as a guardian. Sorry about the horrible summary. T for swearing
1. Intro

Intro  
A/N: sorry this chapter is horrible, but please wait until chapter one before you judge. please please please! Also, just a heads up, every chapter goes with a song, and the songs names are the chapter names

Jacks P.O.V  
The creatures of exile were freaking out, screaming "the Guardians are here! Run! Run!" But I was pretty much ignoring them. Bunny and I were only there for one person, and North had said that she would look just like a human girl. None of these things looked like a human girl to me. He described her as around my age when I had died, with long blonde hair, deep violet eyes and a stone ring around her neck. He had also warned us that she had the ability to manipulate sound, and that she was good at it too. She had been a spirit for 151 years, or since the American civil war.  
We had been searching exile for just a couple minutes when I saw her."That's her! Grab her!" I yelled. She looked exactly how North had described her; beautiful with violet eyes and long straight blonde hair. I didn't see how she could ever be in exile, she looked to innocent. But she was here and i had to get her with the Easter Kangaroo's help.  
The man on the moon wanted her to be a Guardian, and North was all for it, even though i had pointed out several times that people went to exile for a reason. North was stubborn like that. I watched as Bunnymund bounded forwards and tackled her to the ground before she even knew what was happening. This was to easy, I expected her to fight a little, but I hadn't needed to lift a finger to take her out. There was definitely something strange going on. "Okay" I said, "let's get her back to the workshop." Bunny looked down at the girl and said "There might be a problem with that Frosty. I think I broke her leg."  
Great. Just great. "You broke her, you carry her. Easter Kangaroo, now let's go. I hate this place


	2. Radioactive

**A/n: this chapter was written while I was listening to Radioactive NY Imagine dragons, **

**Also, I do not own ROTG, only my O/C**

Ari's P.O.V  
"Uggh..." I groaned. "What a strange dream" I had dreamed that I was in exile when I had been taken by a Guardian? "What the heck is a guardian anyways? I've never even heard of them, and all of a sudden I'm dreaming that I

taken out of exile by one. But that wouldn't exactly be a bad thing unless Guardian's are evil, but they couldn't be if the creatures of exile are all scared of them. So it must have been a good dream I guess." I settled that issue in my mind and tried to recall where I had fallen asleep. This part of exile was unfamiliar to me.  
I looked around and saw that I was in a workshop filled with toys, little elf-thingies that looked kinda like living Santa hats and these big furry Bigfoot/abominable snowman creatures that were making all sorts of amazing toys. I couldn't really see them though, because I was in a corner surrounded by a bunch of boxes.  
"Alice, welcome to Wonderland." I muttered to myself "where the heck am I?" I had my answer soon enough as a door in the workshop burst open and I heard a voice with a thick Australian accent exclaim, "I am NOT . A. KANGAROO!"  
I wasn't in a mood to see what the source of the noise was, because I was starting to realise that I wasn't in exile anymore. And if I wasn't in exile, where was I? I tried to jump up and run, but a horrible pain shot through my left leg, and I collapsed on the ground. "Oooowwww..." I moaned quietly. I was hoping that whoever was there wouldn't notice me.  
I heard a guys voice say "Really? Could've fooled me. Are you sure your not confused? You look just like a Kangaroo to me." What's going on? I thought to myself. I tried to shift my leg again and was rewarded by a searing pain even worse that the first one. It felt like my leg was in a furnace full of nails. I let out a small shriek. Big mistake. "Oh! She must be awake!" A woman said.  
A cute guy with white hair and blue eyes and...no shoes? poked his head around the corner. When he saw me sitting there, he looked behind him and said "yeah, she's awake, North? I think we should have someone take a look at her leg." His voice was the one that had made the person with the Australian accent mad.  
Then a Russian sounding voice, North asked , "What's wrong with her leg jack?" The boy, Jack smirked like it was an amusing story as he said, "Bunnymund broke her leg when he tackled her."  
Well, that explained why my leg was killing me, but why had I been tackled? By someone named Bunnymund?.? What a weird name."Its just like my dream." I whispered as silently as I could, but Jack caught it. He looked a bit confused, but didn't say anything. "Well can you help her out of there and to the kitchen Jack? We'll wait for you there." North said, and I heard footsteps head away from where I was, echoing until they faded away completely.  
Jack looked at me, and I looked at him, and we just sat there watching each other for at least a minute. I was terrified that he was going to kill me any minute from now, he looked like he could; and I was still too dazed to focus enough to use my powers. Then he gave this half smirk and crouched down so that he was eye level with me. "Left leg, right?" He asked me.  
Now, I don't like to talk,because I hate my voice more than anything. I sound like freaking wind chimes, all wispy and gentle and barely audible. I hate it, so I just nodded yes. "Okay." He muttered, half to himself and half to me, "If I help you get get up, do you think you could make it to the kitchen? Its only about fifteen feet away from where your sitting." I nodded yes again, because I figured that I could focus enough to block any noise I made because of the pain that it would cause to walk. At least I hoped I could.


	3. Some Nights

A/N: please fogive me for my awful spelling, i can only update vua tablet and my keyboard is super touchy. its evil i swear. and also, i will forget to put disclaimers every chapter, cause its such an easy thing to forget, so please tell me if i dont have those.  
speaking of disclaimer, i do not own ROTG; only my oc  
Ari's P.O.V  
I'll skip that part where I did my best to get to the kitchen. All I will say is that I almost collapsed twice and Jack had to save me from one of the living Santa hats, elves. I officially hate elves, they are evil and I don't care if their supposed to help Santa, cause I hate them a lot. And apparently Santa kidnapped me, so yeah.  
Anyways, we got to the kitchen and I saw a very odd collection of beings. There was a beautiful fairy, a large man with a tattoo on one arm said naughty; and the other arm said nice, a man made of...sand?, and a giant bunny rabbit. I stood there leaning against the door frame staring at them, and they stared at me. We stood there for a while, just staring, when I felt my leg shake and give in. I gave a little shriek of pain and fell towards the ground.  
I must of hit my head on something, because I blacked out for a minute. When I came to, I was being carried by...someone? With freezing hands (I could feel the cold through my jeans) to a table or gurney or something . "There we go Shelia, we'll get your leg patched up in no time" the Australian voice, which belonged to the bunny I thought, said from off to the side. "Ooooouuuuuucccccchhhhhh..." I moaned, "thathurtsputmmedown." My leg was burning and it hurt so bad that I was ready to cry, but I wasn't about to do that in front of whoever these people were.  
The fairy lady said to me "Don't worry dear. You'll be just fine in a bit. We'll heal you in no time. " that made me panic a bit. I squirmed a little bit, trying not to move my leg and at the same time get whoever was holding me to let go.  
"Would you stop squirming?" Jack asked "your making it hard for me to keep your leg from moving." Well. Now I knew who was carrying me at least. Why was he so cold though? That wasn't the question though, but i would definitely have to consider that at some point. No, the question was how to explain that they can't heal me? Oh god. I was going to have to actually TALK. And not talk like saying ow or moaning. No. I was actually going to have a conversation. That was my worst nightmare. Did I mention that I hate my voice?  
I decided to get it over with then. "You cant heal me." I said softly, I still had my eyes squeezed shut, so I was a bit shocked when I was placed gently on a rough surface. We must have gotten to the table already. North , who I identified by his voice, asked; "Why is that?"  
But a question had come into my mind, and I considered it way more important than his. I opened my eyes and asked, "Umm... who are you people anyways? And where am I?" . I can be a little bit slow when it comes to processing obvious things like asking who these people were, and where I was.  
North laughed, and looked at the others in the room and said "oh well! It seems we forgot to introduce ourselves to the girl. Well, we're going to fix that as soon as she explains why we can't heal her."  
Okay, there are a lot of things that I can let slide, and I don't know if it was how he said it, or my usual paranoia kicking in, but I kinda freaked out a tiny bit. "Excuse me?" I asked indignantly, "One minute I an walking around in exile, and the next minute I wake up in wherever this is with no clue how I got here or where I am or who the hell you people even are! And you expect me to just tell you random important things like how you can heal me!? Uhhhh hello? Why am I even here?"  
I was ready to continue when I realised that I was making the ground vibrate, because I was letting my fear effect my powers, and it was pumping vibrations into the ground, causing a mini earth quake. "Deep breaths Ari." I said to myself "calm down"  
It was the bunny who spoke next. 'We shouldn't forget how dangerous she is Mates. Got to remember that she was in exile for a reason." Oh god, if only they knew what reason that was. Then I bet that they would've trusted me right then, but they didn't know, and I wasn't about to tell these strangers about my life.  
"Alright, Bunny, have it your way." North sighed. He looked at me and said "I am what humans call Santa, though you can call me North. The rabbit over there is Aster Bunnymund, the Easter Bunny. The fairy is Toothina, the Tooth fairy, as you've probably guessed. The man made of sand is..."  
- I cut San.. I mean North off before he could continue. "Let me guess. That's the sandman right?"  
"Yes, though we call him Sandy. And Jack, of course is Jack Frost. We are what you might call protectors of children. The Guardians, if you will." North finished, acting if I hadn't interrupted his introductions. "So it wasn't a dream." I half whispered to myself, completely shocked.  
"Now wasn't that nice?" Said the tooth fairy " and as soon as we heal your leg, I can look at your teeth!" I shot my head up from examining my fingernails and glared at each of them in turn. "You can't heal me." I said to them again.  
This time it was the Easter Bunny who asked "And why wouldn't that be ,Shelia?" What was I supposed to tell them? Years of living in fear and paranoia told me not to say anything, so I decided to go with instinct and keep my mouth shut.  
The reason they couldn't heal me was because I can only be healed by pure emotion. If I wasn't in an extreme emotional state, then I was just going to have to try to set the bone in my leg and deal with it.  
The Sandman was looking at me, like he knew what I was. He started making little symbols over his head, but I don't think any of the Guardians saw it. I pretended not to notice, because I was getting a sinking feeling that he knew something about me. Finally, he got frustrated with being ignored and kicked North in the shin."ow!" North exclaimed, "Sandy! What was that for!?"  
Now that he had all the Guardians attention, he made a whole bunch of symbols over his head and ended the series with a question mark. Everyone's eyes slowly went from the Sandman to me. Toothina was the first one to speak. "Is that true then?" She asked me quietly.  
"What?" I questioned. Just because they could understand the sand symbols didn't mean that I had a clue what they said. The Guardians all looked to one another in silence, like they were daring each other to tell me what the Sandman had said.  
Apparently they voted that Bunny should tell me, because he stepped forward and said quietly, "Sandy says that you wont let us heal you because its impossible." I kept my mouth shut and after an awkward pause, he added "you dream aboutit."

A/n thanks to VeryBery96 for the review! Im realty glad you like it so far. Also thanks to Doc ThebMedic and Tiryn for following


	4. Lets Kill Tonight

Chapter 3  
A/N: tyqnks to the people who have read this sofar, i know that it kinda sycks, but hopefully my writing skills will imprrove as the story moves along, so please try ti bear with me untill then. Also yet again, i do not own ROTG  
Ari's P.O.V  
The first thought that came to my head was What? How could they... wait. I couldn't believe how stupid I had been. I mean, this guy was THE Sandman; master of dreams. Of course he would know what I dream about. I made mental note to figure out how to shield my mind while I was sleeping.  
"Ummm..." I was scrambling for something to say, and I was really stressing. All of these emotions were bombarding me at once. Fear, apprehension, tension, confusion, shock and pain were all pushing against my mental barriers, and I knew I was *this* close to a complete breakdown.  
My powers responded to my inner turmoil by making the air Hum with noise, kinda like when you stand too close to the speakers at a heavy metal concert and you can hear everything and absolutely nothing at the same time. I was fighting on the inside to keep my cool, and I was loosing big time.  
I think that the Guardians figured out that something was wrong too, because they all looked around like they were expecting trouble. North motioned to The Easter Bunny and said "Bunny, try to find somewhere to lock the girl, while we figure out what is going on."  
Bad idea North, because that was the last straw for me. I felt the walls in my mind cave in, and I lost it on the inside. I am proud to say that I kept my cool pretty well on the outside, but trust me, I was p-i-s-s-e-d, and we all know what that spells.  
I stood up and walked over to North; who was still looking for a threat, and tapped him on the shoulder. "Excuse me?" I said, and I swear, even my chimey voice sounded cold and poisonous. "I know you did not just tell him to lock me up. Because if you did, I am gonna be sooo pissed off, and that would be bad for everyone, including me, cause when I'm pissed, I do idiotic things. So I must of heard you wrong right?"  
I knew that this was going to get me spot numero uno on the naughty list, but I was mad as hell, and didn't really care. North was staring at me slack jawed, and I'll be honest, I felt like a complete badass.  
There was almost a minute of dead silence, and I calmed down in that minute. I think that the Guardians could visibly see me calm down, because I felt tension that I hadn't even known was there melt out of the room. Finally, North broke the silence. "Impossible." He uttered in amazement" Not only did you just terrify everything in this building, but you're walking on your broken leg."  
"What?" For a split second I was confused, and then I realised that my emotions had gone so overboard that I had healed. "Damn!" I growled. I could feel myself getting angry over being so stupid, and I suppressed the emotion as quickly as I could.  
"Wait." Jack said sarcastically while raising one eyebrow at me. "Somebody want to explain to me how its suddenly a bad thing to have a broken leg mysteriously healed?" At this point, all the Guardians were waiting for me to react. By their expressions, I was guessing that Jack was pretty good at getting people angry, but I was in controlled of my emotions again, and I wasn't about to freak out all over again.  
"I'm sorry," I replied icily, "but don't you have a snowstorm to make? Somewhere else?" I got shocked stares from all the guardians, except for Jack. He laughed and answered "not somewhere else, no. But I can make one here if you want."  
Okay, to me, that sounded a lot like a challenge. I looked over and saw stricken looks on all of the Guardians faces. Oh yeah, it was a challenge. "Okay, game on, Frost." I quipped, "bring on the snow."  
I heard the Guardians groan loudly in the background; and Jack laughed maniacally. He sounded a little TOO happy about the situation. "Tell you what," he said "I'm a nice guy; so I'll cut you a deal. Now, the guardians want to keep you locked up, and honestly, so do I. You're from exile, and that makes you dangerous."  
"Gee thanks" I responded sarcastically "locked up for eternity; sounds great."  
He smirked at me and wagged his finger. "Uh huh. I'm not done though. Here's the deal. We trap you in one of my blizzards for three hours, with nothing but what you have now. If you can stay and deal with it for the three hours, we'll let you go wherever; as long as someone we trust is with you. If you can't deal with it and ask to be let out, I'll let you out, but you'll get locked up just like we want you to be."  
This guy was playing a dangerous game. I was going to win though. One thing about me; I'm a risk taker, and I love to play games. The higher the stakes the better. "Alright then. I'll play your game. Let's get a move on, I have enough to do as it is."  
Jack snickered, "Alright. Let the game begin"


	5. Safe and Sound

Chapter 4  
A/N: chapter four yay! im on a roll! thanks to everyone who has followed favorited reviewed or even read my story. i am tryibg to work on gicing you all longer chapters, so sorry if you wanted a short fic, because this one is gonna be pretty long i think.  
Disclaimer: i dont own riae of the guardians, i only own my oc  
Ari's P.O.V  
" Damn!" I growled to myself."Why was I stupid enough to agree to being stuck in a blizzard for three hours?! What the hell was I even thinking!?" A harsh barking cough interrupted my griping a lot earlier than I would have liked it to. *great. Just great. On top of freezing to death, I also have a cough that's going to turn into the flu or a cold!* I moaned to myself.  
I looked up and yelled "how much longer am I stuck in here for? " Considering that I didn't expect a response, I was pretty surprised when I got one. "Already getting tired princess? Well, its not like I expected you to last. I told the Guardians that there was nothing to worry about. Your too soft to deal with the cold."  
"Excuse me? I was just asking you how much longer I've gotta be stuck in this Goddamn cold! " Why did he expect that I was going to give up so easily? I mean, come on, I'm way more stubborn than that. Geez. But at the same time, he had to have known that saying that I was soft was just going to make me last even longer in the damn cold. If he wanted me to give up, he should have just kept quiet. And the thing is, I'm pretty sure that he knew that too.  
He replied to me with a disinterested "Two and a half hours and fifteen seconds if you really want specifics." I moaned in despair. "Two and a half hours. I'm gonna die."  
I heard him /chuckle as he said "You can always back out if you can't take the cold. Nobody will blame you if you want a nice warm cage instead. We've already decided that Sandy will make it out of dreamsand and the yetis will keep watch over you."  
I almost choked at the thought of being confined in a cage being guarded by those fuzzy creatures that had made the toys . "No way in hell." I muttered, more to myself than anyone else. "I'd kill myself a thousand times over before being locked in a cage like that. No cages. Not for me, oh no way. I'm claustrophobic for gods sake! I'd die if I was locked up like that. A cage not gonna happen. I absolutely refuse a cage. I cant even imagine how small it would be. It would be the cellar all over again. I am NOT going to relive that. Not now, not ever again. I will NOT BE LOCKED UP LIKE THAT EVER AGAIN!"  
I was shaking by the end of that, and it wasn't from the cold either. It was from the memory of being trapped in the cellar of the willowcreek house for three weeks. That was how I had died as a human,and they weren't going to make me go through that twice.  
And then it hit me. I was pretty sure that I had just said all that out loud, where jack could probably hear my every word. Uh-oh. Well that wasnt exactly too good. "Uhhh... YOU DIDNT HEAR THAT!" I shouted at the top of my lungs. all I got as a response was silence. Damn Frost. I sighed and sat down, it was going to be a long two and a half hours.  
A little while later found me curled up in a ball in a snow cave thingie. it wasnt so much of a cave as a hole'in the snow that had me in it. "I used to love the snow so much too." I moaned to myself. "It was always soo fun to run around and make snow angles and men." It also used to be one of the only times where my Mother seemed to actually be there, in the winter with the snow.  
Now i wanted to be anywhere but where i was, in the cold freezing snowstorm, with only my thoughts to keep me company. stupid thoughts. why do you have to lead me to think about only depressing things, like my human life before i was turnes into a spirit or ghos or whatever it is that i am?! i mean honestly you have to go think about your MOTHER

of all things. even in death she manages to hurt you; but still all you can do is think about her. I scolded myself. My thoyghts always seemed to urn to my life in Vicksburg, Missippi. well, my mortal life at least.  
At first i had a relitavely okay life, at least until the day my family house had been attacked and destroyed in the Battle Of Vicksburg in 1863. that was when i died. my father had shoved me int the cellar of our mansion and promised that he would come and let me out when the fight was over and we were safe. The thing is, he never came back. he had been killed, and the town had been taken.  
And the cellar was locked from the outside. I had no provisions to survive on. i dont know how i lasted three weeks before dying of dehydration or staevation; whatever one ended up causing my death. Perhaps it was both; i guess ill never really know.  
I dont even know why i had been brought back as a spirit. i wasnt special or important, just a regular southern girl. Yeah, southern; not Confederate. I didnt think that slavery was needed, and neither did my family. But we loved our home and wanted to be able to stay without having our friends and neibhors hate us; so we never stated our views, and everyone just assumed we agreed with them.  
Anyways, i was ressurected as a spirit by the moon. The only thing that he told me was never to lose the ring. I dont know what the ring is for or what it dose; but i know i woukd have held on to it even if i hadnt been told to do so.  
I discovered my powers only after,..  
stop! i screamed at myself dont you dare think about that! dont you dare! i was shaking from the cold and the harshness of my memories. i hated to think of my past and who i used to be; because it always reminded me of who i am now. i hated the comparison between the two.  
i was about to dive right back in ti the train of thought tgat i had so violently broken off when i heard a voice. well, not a voice so much as jacks voice. "Wow.i cant believe it. youve actually lasted two whole hours. i gotta say; im impressed, even if you did just make me lose my bet withSandy. Oh well; apparently your tougher than i thought you were. Sadly for you, that just means that i can stop going so easy on you in the next hour."


	6. Turn out the Lights

A/n: hope you guys are liking the story so far, and again i am sorry for my completwy awful aspelling but my tablet is sbeing super stupod. please feel free to point out any spelling/ grammar errors. constructive criticism is welcome but please no mean or unnecisarely rude comments, because i am doing my best to improve my writing skills  
Also i will say yet again that i do not own rise of the guardians, only my oc  
I offically hate snow. no if ands or ors about it, i hate it and it hayes me. well, may it dosent hate me as much as i ahte it, but i mean, if you were atuck in a blizzard for three hours wouldnt; you hate snow just a little bit too?  
but i did manage to survive the three lhours needed to keep a sembalence of freedom in my existance, so i guess that it could have been worse than it was.  
i had curled myself up into a little ball in the snow and began thinking about random songs, hoping to distract myself from the bitter chill of the white snow that surrounded me. it actually worked too. i didnt even realis how much time had passed util i heard jacks voice. "wow. you actually survived that, im impressed; really, i am. i gotta say, you definately deserve to avoid that cage."  
Oh, he had no idea. "damn straight" i growled. it was only then that i realised that his voice was not echoing around like it had warlier in the blizzard; it instead came from somewhere to my left. i considered uncurling so i could face him, but quickly decided against that; because if i uncurled i was pretry sure that my frozen limbs would all shatter.  
I heard the Austrailian voice that could only belong to the Easter Bunny say "Oi! the girls probabaly freezin to death. Someone bweter get 'er a blanket and somthin' ta drink" huh. so i survive a blizzard and all of a sudden these Guardians seem to vare if i am okay or not? i wasnt really aure what to make of that. it seemed really strange, but who was i to say what was or wasnt strange with these beingsr i was the stranger-the outcast from exile-here; they were all right at home.  
I heard the voice of Toothaina as she exclaimed "poor girl! ohh we should have given her at least a blanket! she almost froze to death! almost died! what would we have done of she died? can any of you imagine how furious MiM would be? oh no!"  
i felt hands drape a blanket over me and then pick me up.  
"What!" i attempted to shout, but i was shaking so much that the words were completely incomprehendable. i must have fallen asleep while i was being carried, because my vision faded to black ans the last thing i heard was North as he said "Good question Sandy. Where is jack?"


	7. How to Save a Life

A/n: i am going to try to start this chapter from jacks point of view, and about halfway through it will probably switch back to Ari's. also, thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed or followed my story! it really means alot to me.  
Disclaimer: once again; i do ont own rise of the guardians, only my oc  
Jac_ks P.O.V_  
_She almost froze to death_  
_Oi! The girls probably freezin to death!_  
_Almost died!_  
_wow, was it really that cold? she seemed to be alright, but they did have a point. since when has the cold done anything besides give frostbite and hypothermia? _  
_Since when had the cold done anything..._.  
Jack jerked his thoughts away from their destructive path. The snow brought as much joy as it did pain. what did he expect? The season of winter had many gaces, both harsh and kind; and he, the winter spirit, had to be the balance between all the faces of winter.  
But that didnt mean that he liked it. it just wasnt Jacks nature to cause pain or suffdering. He only wanted to bring happieness and joy to children. But it was hard, when that harsher side of winter was as much a part of him as the kinder side.  
Thats why pitch had wanted him as an aly, because of how harsh and deadly the winter could be. What goes better than cold and dark?  
Jack smiled bitterly when that particular question came to mind. He knew that he had a family with the Guardians, knew that he was no longer alone; yet he often found himself contemplating that very question. He still had not found an awnser, and as time went by, he was starting to wonder if he ever actually would. it seemed like an impossibility. Especially on days when he was reminded how cruel the winter could really be.  
It made him wonder sometimes. "After all..." he repeated Pitche's words' "What could ever go better than cold and dark?"

Ari's POV  
"Where did he go! Oh no! Do you think Pitch came back for revenge? What if he took Jack!? Why would he just wander off like that? What happened to him!?" Yup, that was what woke me up. The shrill, worried voice of the Tooth Fairy.  
I was laying down, somewhere, covered in about 100 blankets. It made me feel trapped and confined, as if someone was smothering me. I didnt like the feeling and instantly sat up, unceremoniously shoving rhe blankets as far away from me as i vould get them.  
I opened my eyes to see complete chaos. Yetis were running around like mad, tripping over elves and toys, and North and Bunnymund were yelling at eachother about the location of...something? someone? i wasnt really sure. Toorhania was flying around the room, obviously distressed and talking ro herself or anyone that would listen. And the Sandman seemed to be teying to get everyones attentioin as he stood in front of me; presumably to gaurd me.  
"Hey, Sandman." i said; making the short golden man whirl around in surprise, "Need some help?" He seemed ro know what i meant when i asked that, and he nodded his head vigorously. "Okay.." i muttered under my breath "Here goes nothing."  
I stood up from where i had been sitting and took a few deep preparatory breaths, I closed my eyes and focused on imagining all the sound draining out of the room, until i was unable to hear anything but my own breathing. Then i took off my necklace and removed the jade ring from its chain.  
it was a beautiful ring really, it was carved to look like connected music notes and it was surrounded with a sense of sadness and power. i only ever used it when i was doing anything bigger than muffling my footsteps or stifeling a scream.  
The second the ring hit the middle dinger of my left hand, i felt an electric current as energy flowed through my body. I focused that energy and redirected it in a concentrated stream to my right hand. once i was satisfied, i cut off the energy flow, and opened eyes that i hadnt even known were closed.  
In my hand was an orb of pulsating silver sound energy, I looked over at the Sandman and almost laughed at his expression of pure amazment. I held up one finger to him, winked and mouthed watch . I didnt wait for a response as i dropped the orb and let it fall.  
There was a shockingly loud splintering noise as the orb hit rhe ground and shattered into oblivion. After the deafining noise, the workshop fell intona shocked silence, I nodded to the Sandman. "Its all yours pal."  
He stared at me for a second before turning to the Guardians and flashing a series of sand symbols over his head. I had no clue

what they meant, but from the way North's jaw dropped, Bunnymund flinched and Toothania cried out in dispair, i guessed that it wasnt that good, whatever it was.  
"Anybody want to tell me what he just said?" i asked. Apparently my vouce shocked The three Guardians back to the real worled, because they looked at me with something akin to surprise. It was Noeth who awnsered my question. "Well youbsee," he began with his heavy accent "Jack, he ah...well he dose not like to know that his snow has the ability to hurt people. it makes him...sad. and having you almost freeze to death in his blizzard...well...it might not have bee the best idea to allow you to accept his challenge."  
it took me all of 30 seconds to process what North had just said.  
"Well what are you all waiting for then? Go find Jack!"  
My words had the intended effect. The Guardians seemed to shift into overdrive as they began their hunt. i dont know why i cared about finding Jack Frost; i dont know why i felt like i needed to help-i mean, technically i was helping my kidnappers- but i felt like i had to.  
So i started searching. i didnt know where i was going; i guess i just kinda hoped that i would run into Jack somewhere. I dont know if it was fate that i found him when i did, or if it was just chance, but i walked out onto the balcony where he was standing kust ti time to hear him mutter bitterly "And after all... what could ever go together better than Cold and Dark?"  
I didnt mean to awnser, he was obviously asking himself; but i couldnt stop from blurting out "Well now, thats really a matter of oppinion."  
Jack spun around looking like he was ready to kill something; but he relaxed slightly when he saw that it was me. i may not have been considered a friend, but i wasnt really a threat to him either.  
i was kicking myself for saying such an impulsively stupid thing, so i was suprised when Jack asked me "Really? how is it a matter of oppinion?"  
At first i thought that he was mocking meo but one look at his face cast that thought aside. he looked genuinely curious as to what i had to say. "Well" i began hesitantly "its a matter of oppinion because there are alot of people who would say that cold and dark dont go together at all, because some people depend on a cold landscape to survive; and then there are some who would agree that cold and dark go together, because they have lived their lives in a hot or warm place where the cold was new and threatining. so it just depends on your perspective i guess."  
My awnser seemed to really surprise Jack. "Ya know?" he said to me "I never really thought of it like that." I wondered why he thought of it at all, but decidd that it would be better if i juat didnt ask.  
"Like i said, its a matter of perspective. On that note, the Guardians are going out of their minds looking for you and you should get back to them. Also, you should take me with you, 'cause honestly? im completely lost."

A/n: again, thanks to everyone who has read or reviewed, I hope you all are enjoying this, and if you have any ideas that you want to throw at me, feel free to do so, but I am warning you now that I may or may not use them, but I promise that i will consider them for sure


	8. Its Time

chapter seven. its time  
A/n: in response to an anonamous guest review, i do plan to have Ari open up more, its just kind of hard for me to figure out how to have her do that, but dont worry XD the Guardians are about to learn a little bit more about her in a couple chapters; within the next three for sure. i also want to apoligise for not updating yesterday; i was swamped with homework and i couldent even get on the inyernet because it was shut down, so i am really sorry about that.  
i hope everyone likea this next chapter, and i still do not own rise of the Guardians.

Well, after Jack finished laughing at me for getting lost (i thought that was kindof unfair since i had only been in the workshop (or Santoff Clausen, as i was later told) for three hours, and thois hours had been spent stuck in a blizzard)- he lead me back to the Kitchen area. wjere i had first sen all of the Guardians.  
It was a really long walk. We spent the first half of the walk in silence, before Jack randomly asked, "So your powers have to do with sound right?" The question kinda caught me off gaurd, so my awnser was a little bit late. "Uh yeah, for the most part."  
Jack stopped and looked at me curiously. "For the MOST part?" he asked. wait what? oh no. I mentally facepalmed myself for being such an idiot. great, just go and pretty much tell the stranger that i have other abilities. great job Ari, really amazing.  
I ran a hand through my hair and possibly blushed alittle "Uhh... no? Well, i mean... i mean uh... hey, you know; i bet the Guardians are really worried about you. we better get back to them?!"  
It was supposed to come out as brisk and calm, but it ended up sounding more like a schoolgirl who was trying to talk to her crush for the first time.  
I think Jack noticed to, because he kindof looked at me a little strangely before deciding to leave it alone.  
The fact that he didnt comment itsself intruiged me to no end. Most spirits or creatures would instantly try to decide what i was hiding and use any means neccisarry to find out. But not Jack. It seemed like... it almost seemed like,  
Like he knew that there were some things that i wanted to keep to myself; like he was actually going to respect my privacy and let me reveal things at my own pace. The thought was so surprising that i acrually stopped walking and sat down on the floor, right in the middle of the hall. Just like that; i was so completely overwhelemed. if i had any injuries; they would have healed right then.  
I just couldnt process it. I had been alone almost 150 years, i was cast into exile right after i became a spirit. Exile was a harsh place; so i had only had hostile relations with other spirits. the last thing i would have ever expected would be for Jack to respect my wishes.  
so i sat down in the middle of the hallway. I thought that Jack had kept walking, so he once again surprised me when he sat down right next to me in the middle of the hallway at Santoff Clausen.  
"Wow. Your just full of surprises, arent you?" i whispered. i didnt intend for Jack to hear, but apparently things didnt like to happen the way i intended them to; because Jack said "Yeah, i guess i am." and after a long pause "youve been alone for a while havent you?"  
the second part was asked so softly that i almost didnt even hear it.  
Almost being the operative word of course. Because i did hear him. and when

he said that, i pretty much stopped breathing. I felt like i was going to cry, just hearing those eight words. but i wouldnt, because i didnt even know him enough to cry anywhere near him. instead i took andeep breath and gathered my vomposure; fully prepared to tell some believable lie; but i found that i couldnt bring myself to lie to him.  
so i didnt. instead i simply stood up, whispered "Yeah, i have." and waited as Jack got up and began leading me to the kitchen once again.

A/n: i really hope that you guys liked that chapter, and im really sorry how painfully short it was. im trying to make the chapters longer; but its just so hard! im really really sorry and i feel awful and ill try my best to make the chapters longer, but i just cant seem to get past 1,000 worda per chapter! im really sorry.  
On that happy note, thanks to everubody who has read or reviewed my story so far, it really makes my day XD


	9. move along

A/N: i am so sorry that i havent updated in like, a month! i feel awful! im not gonna make anyexcuses cause i dont have any reason for not updating besides the fact that i am an awful, mean and evil person. AHHHHHHH! im so sorry! im going to try ro post acouple chapters today and tomorrow to make up for it. key word; TRY. i will only post if i think that the chapters are good.  
so with thta said, back to the story!e!

the second that we got to the kitchen, Jack was attackedd by the overly hysterival Tooth Fairy and a sawrm of...mini fairies? it was cute and super funny at the same time. i couldnt help but laugh as the mini fairies sweparmed him, making chattering noises; and the Tooth Fairy gushed about how sorry she was and how they didnt mean to make jack feel bad by what they said.  
it was nice to see that Jack has people who cared about him..., wait what? i mentally slapeed myself. _dont get attached Ari_ i thought bitterly _you dont know them, they trapped you in a blizard; and yet you are glad when they are reunited.? im such an idiot._  
then i did something dangerous, i asked myself; _why do i feel like this twoards them?_ and almost instantly i gave myself an awnser that completely stunned me._ because you still want a family. i_ scoffed at myself. _what? you never had one that loved you when you were alive; so as a spirit you still want that._  
i made a small choking noise and argued with myself, thinking; _right..sure i do. but see, me; the thing is that im never gonna get a family. not after who i saved. nobody would want to have the crazy girl who saved darkness herself in their family._  
i didnt allow myself a response to that. iwas so caught up in my own thoughts that only when the Easter Bunny grabbed my arm did i realise that the Guardians were trying to speak to me.  
"Yes?" i asked as politely as i could. "Is there something you need?" the giant Rabbit seemed taken aback that i had spoken without adding some kind of causttic remark, but quickly recovered. "'ell' we jus' wanted ta' thank you for bringin' Frostbite 'ere back so quickly; even though we havent exactly been to kind to ya' since youve been 'ere."  
I had to blink a couple times and process what he had just said. at first i thought it might have been a trick; but one look at the Guardians told me different. North was smiling and nodding his head enthusiastically, obvioualy agreeing with Bunnymunds words. Toothiania was flitting about nerviously with her hands clasped in front of her and an ashamed look on her face that obviously said that she felt bad about the blizzard.  
The Sandman gave me two thumbs up and make an OK sign out of sand, along with an arrow pointed in my direction, seeming to say "This girl's not bad." Jack was leaning against a wall, watching the other Guardians; but when he caught me looking at him, he gave me a half smirk and a nod, mouthing sorry at the same

time.  
i shook my head and looked around one more time, bedore speaking to all of the Guardians at once. "Its okay. i dont blame you guys for acting the way that you did. all you knew was that i was a spirit from exile; and from what you know about exile, all spirits from there are evil. and maby i am evil. i really dont know anymore, it was smart for you to treat me the way that you did. you didnt know the whole story. you didnt knowhow i ended up where i was."  
i finished speaking, satisfied that i had reassured that Guardians that i wasnt mad at them in the slightest. of course; things backfired when Jack walked up to me and said "Your right. We dont know the whole story. So why dont you tell us?"

.


	10. i cant lie

A/N: yay!e chapter ten! honestly, im surprised that i made it this far with the fic. still working on making my chapters longer, though im afraid that its not working to well. if anyone has ideas dor things ro put in my story, please let me knew, either through P.M or review. thanks for reading!

Oh my. i hadnt realised that Jack would actually be CURIOUS about what i said. normally when i say something cryptic like that , people leave it alone. normally i feel relief/sadness when they do that, but i just got used to the noncaringness.

the last thing that i would have ever expected was for someone to ask how i ended up how i was. "Err... Oh hey, would you look at that!" i exclaimed. i was surprised that all the Guardians looked, but wasted no time running out of the room as quickly as i possibly could. i wasnt stupid enough to try and escape; all i wanted ro do was find somewhere to sort out my thoughts.

i ran for what seemed to be the longest time; but thats probably only because i kept tripping over the dress that i was wearing. Yeah, yeah i said DRESS. i was sent into exile so soon after i had died, so i never had a chance get something that was easier to move around in. Remember, i died as a southern girl in the civil war. of course i would be wearing a dress.

if i am being honest, its not that bad. the dress is a steriotypical southern bele dress , except for the fact that it is all black with purple ribbon and lace. the thing was worn beyond beleif though; i mean, there were holes and tears everywhere. the bottom was completely frayed and unraveling. The sleeves were in pretty much the same condirion, with tears, holes and dried blood all over them. The whole dress was a disaster; it looked exatly like the sleeves did.

yeah, i was a mess. after a while i stopped running when i came to an abandoned area of the workshop. it loked like it had been used and cherished a long time ago, but was now an abandoned shell of what it had been. sawdust covered the floor and poofed up in little clouds wherever i stepped; covering me and my already worn dress in it. the walls were pure wood in most places, but here and there i could see patches of long forgotren and ill taken care of paint sparsely distributed among the walls.

there were some splintered boards scattered around the ainchent room, along with broken tables, shatered glass and the remains of long forgotten toys, some still unfinished; dropped by whoever had been making them and doomed to lie, forgotten in the ruins of this section of the workshop.

it was actually really sad ro see. the whole area permeated an air of sorrow that was more profound than anything i had ever felt before. something horribe had happened there, once upon a time. some great disaster or tragedy that was worthy of the haunting air that lived in this part of the workshop. something that the residents no doubt still cried about in the nights where sadness and memories drifted through the halls like smoke and fog.

The air seemed to slide down in my throat, going into my heart instead of my lungs; making me recall all the things that had happened to me once upon a time. all the things that had happened to me recently, and all the memories that i had locked in the back of my mind, breaking through the vault doors to unleash the flood.

one memory in particular came to me.** "Come on Ari. Just a couple of steps and youll be alright. i promise." As i hesitated to move, Nix added kindly "Come on; dont tell methat you dont believe in me any more?"**

**Ten year old me gasped in horror at the though. "No! No! No! i still believe! i promise! im just scared! if i go back; Uncle Marcus will hurt me! i know that he will!"**

**Nix got an angry look on her face and said darkly "No he wont. He wont ever touch you again. Your mama is coming to take you back to Viksburg again. And i will make surethat uncle Marcus will never see the light of day again." Ten year old me shuddered at the thought. "Nix?" she called in a small voice.**

**"Yes Ari?" Nix awnsered kindly. Ten year old Ari tok a shaky breath and asked "Are you going to do the thing with the dark? the one where he gets the nightmares?"**

**Nix smiled darkly. "dont worry about that sweetheart. just know that Marcus wont ever bother anyome again." then she held out her hand,and Ari took it withought a second thought. After all, Nix always made the bad things stop with tha dark. Ari never had to be afraid of the dark.**

**Four weeks later, ten year old Ari stood at her Uncle Marcuses funeral. The letter had said that he had died from choking on sand. Ari held her daddys hand and wondered how Uncle Marcus had managed to eat sand. Her mamma had said that uncle had been a smart man, but no smaet person would eat sand.**

**Ari didnt cry at the funeral. she was glad that Uncle Marcus was gone, Beca**use** that meant that he couldnt hurt her any more. She was a little sad though. ahe didnt think that it was good that he had died. it made mamma and daddy sad.**

**Nix ccame out from the shadows of a tree and crouched down next to Ari. "Whats wrong Ari? are you sad that your uncle died?" Ari nodded her head. "he was mean." she sniffled "but its sad that a person died for being mean. it would have been ok if he gpt a time out though.'**

**Nix shook her head at the little girl and smiled softly when she asked "You disnt kill him...right?" Nix lied easily as she said "No. i just gave him a time out sweet heart, just a time out." The child was so nieave. it was sweet. Yea, Nix protected the girl, Yes, Nix was attached to her. But Nix was also darkness herself; and darkness did not change her ways for just one child.**

i gasped in shock as the memorie ended. How had my memory somehow given i sight into the thoughts of Nix? It seemed impossible. i was reeling enough from just that alone, when something else ocvured to me. Nix, m,y child hood hero and protector, jad murdered my uncle in the dead of night.

That shocked me more than anything ever could have. I had replaced Nix in exile, because i believed that she was a hero, a savior to children, someone who would protect people who were unable to pritect themselves. but by doing that, had i simply let a coldblooded killer continue on in her death row, going along un punished?

The thought was just too much for me to process, so i did the only thijng that seemed reasonable to do at the time. I sat down on the sawdust coverd floor, put my head in my hands in cried.

A/N: wow, i think this is the longest chapter that i have ever done! i hope that everyone likes it! thanks to everyone who reads reviews or faves/ follows! you guys are all awesome!


	11. C'Mon

A/N: wow! sorry for the horribly suckish chapter. i really tried, but i just couldnt come up with any ideas for what to do. thanks to everyone who has read, followed, favorited or reviewed. aeroiusly, it means alot to me! oh, i remember that i have forgotten to say that I DO NOT OWN RISE OF THE GUARDIANS!

I dont know how long it was that i cried in that area. it could have been five minuter, it could have been five hours. i dont think that ill ever have a way to tell. i knoe that after a while, i heard the voices of the Guardians. I heard Toothana exclaim "Why would she hide here?"

Jack, saying, "I dont think that she is hiding. She just needs some space." Norths voice as he asked "Why would she need space? you did not ask anything that pry's." Bunnymunds affirmation to Norths statement.

Silence, and then Jack once again, softly "But do we know that? " Toothiana asking what in the world Jack was talking about. Jack, explaining. The other Guardians asking more questions. Jack attempting to explain, moving away from where i was, being asked more qwestions.

It continued on like that, their voices soon fading as they left the abandoned wing. I stilled my tears and slowly stood up, attempting to brush some of the sawdust off of my dress. that didnt work to well , and i ended up with hands coated in the stuff as well.

I stood still for a moment, trying to collect my thoughts and make myself look like i hadnt been bawling. Then i got ready to exit the wing, and head back to the main part of the workshop, somewhere that i could be easily found.

when i was almost out of the rom, something made me look down. i almost fell over wirh shock when i saw what was at my feet. A single flower, made of ice, laying on the ground.

Jack had known that i was in the abandoned Wing. He Hadnt said anything to the other Guardians. I was shocked and confused. I had thought that he hated me. When we had first met, he acted like i was the enemy. so why was he leading the Guardians away from me to give me some space.

Maby, just Maby, he didnt hate me. Maby, Jack Frost wasnt as bad as i thought he was.

A/N: READ! IMPORTANT! READ!  
okay, i am debating on pairing jack and ari... as you probably can tell. i want your oppinions though! i am not a mind reader! i dont know what you want to read! please PM me or review and let me know!


	12. Fences

A/N I think that i am going to end up pairing Jack and Ari together at some point...at least,i think that i will. not quite positive yet. So thanks for reading, reviewing or following! I do not own ROTG! ON TO THE CHAPTER!

I ended up in the reindeer stabels, i dont know how. But it brought a sense of peacefulness and calm with it. As a human, i would always be out with horses, riding, grooming or training then. it was something that i enjoyed and it always helped me relax.

Reindeer were like horses... right? I was starting to have doubts as i faced the one who's stall said "COMET" on it. well, comet did NOT seem like a horse to me, 1: he had horns 2: his tail was way to stubby and short and fuzzy 3: he was giving me the evil eye. HORSES DO NOT GIVE THE EVIL EYE!

I was Just debating if i wanted to try to ride him or not when a loud, booming voice spoke out from behind me. "I would not ride if i we you." thhe voice starrtled and scarred me at the same time, and i whirled around to see North standing in the entryway with both hands on his belly.

I must have looked really terrified, because he gave a liud, deep chuckle and rumbled, "Come! we have been searching whole workshop for you, and you were with Reindeer whole time! should have known!"

With that, he turned around and began astriding back twoards the workshop, clearly expwcting me to follow. and i did, otherwise i probably would have been lost in the workshop forever.

I barely managed to catch uo with him before he turned a corner, and even then i had to walk/run to keep pace with him. "What happened?" i asked him cautiously. He looked down at me and laughed jovially and said "You, little one, went missing and i have found you!"

I frowned and shoook my head. "No, thats not what i meant. I thought that i was your prisoner? what happened to make me... make me not a prisoner?"

North looked shocked and cried, "Prisoner?! Never! we were unsure if you would be violent or not. Did not want to rsk workshjop beinh destroyed or Guardians injured! Never were you prisioner!"

That was a confusing thought for me. "Then what did Jack mean when he said that you guys wanted to lock me up?"

North sighed. "Please do not think Jack is bad. He is not. Jack worries tjat we will abandon him if we accept you. he is so used to being alone that he dose not understand that we will not leave him just because we meen ner spirits and accept them as Guardians. He dose not hate you, Little one. He is just confuaed, much like you are now. Please give Jack chance?"

by the end of the statement, North was pleading with me. i was wary for a few seconds, but one look at his eyes and i knew that he was being sincere. i sighed. "Okay. i dont think that i was ever exactly mad at him anyways. just extremely confused."

North smiled and patted my shoulder. "Ahh., yes. Jack confuses us all. i do not think that he will evr stop confusing either. But that is how he is, and cannot be changed. Now come! we find other Guardians and let know that you have been found eh?"

A/N: yay! i actuakly really liked that chapter! i wantes to do something with North being fatherly and nice, but i wasnt sure how to do it. I will eventually have Ari gey ine on ne time with each Guardian. Hopefully.


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